The present invention relates to computers processes added to existing network processes, and in particular relates to processes added by customers to existing network-business processes for business object access and modification.
Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Computer systems that provide data hosting and applications that operate on hosted data are becoming increasingly popular. Businesses, government entities, and other organizations (generally referred to as users herein) with relatively large bodies of data are increasingly using such computer systems to host their data. Such computer system are typically maintained and operated by businesses that are independent from the users that contract with the businesses for the use of such computer systems for hosting data. Computer systems configured to host data and provide applications for the hosted data provide numerous advantages for users, such as: reducing user-overhead costs, providing reliable access to hosted data via a variety of computer platforms (e.g., desktop computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, etc.), global access to hosted data, a large variety of applications available for the hosted data, and the like.
While a variety of applications are often provided by businesses offering computer systems for hosting data, users using computers systems for data hosting often require processes (generally referred to as user processes herein) that are not provided by the computer systems. Businesses offering computers systems for hosting data typically have limited resources for developing and maintaining specific user processes for the numerous users who desire user processes that are not provided by the computer systems. Further, developing user processes is typically complicated where a relatively large variety of artifacts need to be created to create and execute the user processes. Small and medium size users (e.g., small and medium size businesses) that want to generate user processes often do not have adequate resources for developing, implementing, and maintaining such user processes.
Thus, there is a need for providing improved computer system that are configured to provide computerized tools that provide for users to develop user processes that integrate with existing applications offered by the computer system. It is desirable that the computerized tools are configured to allow users to develop user processes, use the user processes with the user's hosted data, and maintain the user processes for the “life” of the user processes. There is a further need that computerized tools for generating user processes generate and maintain the artifacts needed for supporting the user processes where the user may not be aware that artifacts are being created and used for the user processes.